Be a Lion Not a Mou-ess

Dear Oma and Tante,

Let me tell you about my Big Sister. That little girl SCROWLS around the house and runs everywhere and organizes all our games and bosses me around and plays MONSTERS! with her neighborhood friends. She even invented the word "SCROWL!"

But she’s shy as a butterfly at school.

Big Sister has been going to school for six whole months, but everyday is like her first day. When we get to Big Sisser’s classroom, her teacher says, “Hello, Beautiful!” Mrs. Mulliner is very nice. But Sabrina just stares at her and then ducks her head into Mama's leg.

When we leave school the other children say, “Goodbye, Sabrina!” Those boys are girls are very nice. But Sabrina just stares at them and then ducks her head into Mama's leg.

Mama said Big Sister was starting to look rude.

Mama said they could work up to speaking, but Sabrina needed to at least wave “hello” and wave “goodbye” when someone was speaking to her.

So Sabrina practiced that for a while, and worked herself up to waving.

Then Mrs. Mulliner said that Sabrina might be waving, but she just sits by herself during playtime. She plays with the baby dolls and doesn’t talk to anyone else.

Mama and Daddy were very worried. They were worried that Big Sisser might not be ready to go to Kindergarten because she never speaks.

That would be fine with me. Then Sabrina will play with me all day instead of going to that silly school and leaving me to my own devices.

Anyway, Mama asked Sabrina if Sabrina liked playing by herself. Because everyone in this family is good at independent play.

I mean, have you met Daddy?

But Mama was worried that Sabrina wanted to make friends, but was too shy and was lonely.

Since Mama didn’t speak to anyone until fourth grade, she knew from lonely.

Sabrina said mostly she likes to be by herself, which suits Mama fine. But sometimes Sabrina said she was just shy. And that made Mama sad.

So Mama sprung into action.

Every night she and Sabrina practiced playing. They practiced how Sabrina could ask other boys and girls to play with her. They practiced saying, “Would you like to play with me?” and they practiced just sitting down with other children and sharing toys.

Then Mama worked some magic.

Have you ever met The Little Brute Family? They were very unhappy. They ate sand and gravel porridge and stick and stone stew and snarled and grimaced while they ate. They kicked and hit and banged the pots and scolded the baby. Their kites wouldn’t fly and their sleds dumped them headfirst into snow banks. It was all very sad.

But then one day Baby Brute met a little wandering lost good feeling in a field of daisies. He put it in his pocket and took it home. Then the family smiled. They started eating salad greens and honey. They used good manners and flew kites in the springtime and played in piles of leaves in the fall. They asked that little wandering good feeling to stay, and everything was better.

Sabrina likes The Little Brute Family. So Mama gave Sabrina a little wandering brave feeling to put in her pocket. Whenever Sabrina is scared or shy she can take out her little brave feeling.

Sabrina and her little brave feeling made a goal. They picked out one little boy to play with at school, and chose a day when Sabrina would try to play with him. It worked! Sabrina just sat down. They shared some toys. She wasn’t shy at all, and it was easy!

Soon Sabrina was using her little brave feeling every day to play with other little boys and girls at school. She started talking during show-and-tell and sharing toys all over the place.

But I think maybe that little brave feeling worked too well. Today Mrs. Mulliner had to tell Sabrina to stop chat chat chatting and to be quiet.

Maybe now that Mama has given Sabrina The Nerve, she could work something out for the tin man and the scarecrow as well? 

Love,
Little Nea Noodle